Protesters cheer and shout slogans after the resignation of Sri Lanka’s president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa. Photograph: Chamila Karunarathne/EPA

Sri Lanka’s President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has tendered his resignation by email, ending a week of drama which saw him fleeing the country after angry protestors stormed his official residence.

According to the English newspaper, The Guardian, the formal announcement of Rajapaksa’s resignation was made in a televised address by the speaker, Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, on Friday morning.

Rajapaksa is in Singapore, where he fled to, after he was greeted with rejection protests from the Maldives.

The Guardian reports, Rajapaksa’s decision to flee without resigning had left Sri Lanka in a state of limbo for more than 36 hours, and tensions had run high in the country, which remained in a state of emergency.

Speaker Abeywardena confirmed that the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, would be sworn in as an interim president on Friday and will hold the role until a new vote is held by MPs in parliament next week.

The process of voting in and confirming a new president is likely to take seven days, said the speaker.

Abeywardena requested that all political party leaders “extend their support” for a smooth selection of a new president, and to “uphold democracy” during the transiiton.

The fall of Rajapaksa as president follows months of sustained protests calling for him to step down, reports The Guardian.

He had ruled alongside six members of his politically-powerful family, including his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa who was prime minister and his brother Basil Rajapaksa who was finance minister.

Meanwhile, it is also reported that all his family members had been forced to resign in recent months due to public pressure, the president had clung on to power, much to the anger of protesters on the streets.

Many people hold Rajapaksa responsible for driving Sri Lanka into its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948, which has led to severe shortages of fuel, food and medicines.

Singapore government confirmed that Rajapaksa had not sought asylum in their country, The Guardian also understands.

His final destination remains unknown.